Mantra: Sounds, Their Meanings, and Om

Even though repeated in a careless
manner, the Divine Name burns up
all accumulated negative karmas
of many past births. However, the devotee
who repeats the Divine Name
with feeling and devotion crosses over
the ocean of the world-process
as if it were a mere hoof-mark
made by a cow.

Goswami Tulsidas
The Ramayana (Bala Kanda) 119

CHAPTER EIGHT

Mantra Yoga

Mantras were evolved by Sages and Saints as mystic formulas, each with its own unique spiritual implication. Literally speaking, every Mantra is a brief prayer. For example, “Om Namah Sivaya” means, “Adorations to Lord Shiva” and “Om Sri Ganeshaya Namah” means, “Adorations to Lord Ganesha.”

Thoughts are related to words. Most people cannot think unless they mentally vocalize what they are thinking. Some even go to the extent of talking to themselves while they are thinking. So the link between thought and word is very strong. Furthermore, different words have different influences on the mind, and unknowingly, people choose particular word patterns to create certain effects. It is on this basis that languages have evolved.

More specifically, if you want to create a melodious effect, you speak with more vowel letters.

If you want to be more jarring in your speech, you choose harsh consonant letters. For example, notice how you feel when you repeat the ‘R’ sound as in “Rat,” “Rush,” etc. as opposed to repeating “Om” in the same way. Sages in ancient times recognized this link between mind and word, and on this basis, Mantras were evolved.

The use of Mantra is significant in every religion of the world. In the Bible you will find the quote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Yoga especially emphasizes the importance of Mantras. Japa Yoga, or the Yoga of repeating Mantra, is a very effective aspect of Sadhana or spiritual discipline, and is a powerful technique for attaining spiritual illumination.

Sounds and Their Mystical Meanings

Mystically speaking, each Mantra is composed of root-letters, the central root-letters correspond to various Chakras of Kundalini Yoga. Every root-letter has a subtle meaning or influence on the mind. For example, the Mantra, “Om Namah Sivaya” consists of various root-letters, each letter having a particular significance. “Om” is the symbol of the Absolute, “Na” refers to negation, while “Mah” refers to “Mine-ness.”

Therefore, “Namah” implies, “Negation of mineness.” “Si” is the symbol of auspiciousness, “Va” symbolizes expansion, and “Ya” is the root-letter of the heart center and symbolizes communion with the Divine Self in the heart. Thus, a practitioner of the Mantra, “Om Namah Sivaya,” invokes the Absolute Self by the sound “Om,” and then having negated the sense of “mineness,” ascends to the experience of Divine Communion in the heart.

Thus, through the literal meaning of a Mantra, you express your feelings, while through its mystical meaning, you tap into the relationship that exists between verbal sound and the mind.

“Om”—Complete Mantra in Itself

“Om” has been designated in the Upanishads as the most perfect verbal symbol of the abstract, all-encompassing God or Brahman. “Amen” of Christainity and “Ameen” of Islam are nothing but variations of “Om.”

“Om” is composed of four aspects, represented by the letters “A,” “U,” “M,” and the Ardha-matra, or the dot at the top. It encompasses the two “ends” of the field of human speech. With “A” you open your mouth, the sound emanating from the bottom of your throat. With “U” the sound is shaped by your mouth, ending with “M” where the lips close. The “M” sound ends in a “hum” resonating in the spine and the cranium. This is followed by silence represented by the dot, or bindu. With the enunciation of “Om,” you have used the entire vocal range from the throat to the lips, thus symbolizing the fact that you have uttered all that there is to be said.

The “A” aspect of “Om” refers to the physical body, the physical plane, and the waking consciousness. It also represents Virat, the Cosmic Being, which includes all physical bodies. The “U” aspect of “Om” refers to the astral body, the dream state, and Hiranyagarbha or the Cosmic Mind, which is the cosmic totality of all astral bodies. The “M” aspect of “Om” refers to the causal body, which is beyond the mind and the intellect. This is the vast realm of the unconscious. During deep sleep one is identified with the causal body. It is related to Ishwara or God, the Cosmic Causal Body—the Cosmic Source of all.

The fourth aspect of “Om”—the Ardha-matra, represented by a bindu or point, is silence. It refers to the transcendental state beyond waking, dream, and deep sleep, beyond the body, mind, senses, intellect, ego, and causal body—symbolizing Brahman.

Mandukya Upanishad puts it beautifully—“Om is the bow, the individual soul is the arrow; Brahman is the target. Hit the target, O Aspirant, with persistent vigilance. And just as the arrow becomes one with the target, so too become merged in Brahman or the Absolute.”

“Om” is the Mother of all Mantras. All Mantras begin and end with “Om.” One may chant “Om” in conjunction with one’s specific Ishta Mantra (Mantra relating to the chosen Deity, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Jesus, Buddha, etc.) or by itself if one is not inclined to any form or attribute of God. The chanting of “Om” can be mental or verbal, and is a powerful means to calm the mind, harmonize the Pranas, and reach beyond the realm of the body, mind and senses, to “touch” the Divine Self.

From the book Integral Yoga: The Secret to Enlightenment by Swami Jyotirmayananda, published by the Yoga Research Foundation. © Swami Jyotirmayananda. All rights reserved.

Swamiji teaches live every morning at 8:25 Eastern. Free, and nothing to sign up for. Sit in on the morning satsang

Know someone who would like this? Send them jyotirmayananda.org/start